Page 38 of The Outpost (Jamison Valley 4)
“Hey, Goliath.”
“Hey.” He didn’t smile. He didn’t call me Shortcake. He just came right into my space and steered me by the elbow back inside.
Something wasn’t right.
“What’s wrong?” My hands started trembling as panic set in. Was it my family? Or Felicity? Had the Federovs gotten to someone I loved?
He let my elbow go and looked me up and down. When he’d determined I was fine, he started rubbing his bearded jaw.
“Beau?” My voice cracked. Nothing good was going to come from his mouth.
“Ivan Federov showed in Prescott today.”
My heart dropped to my stomach and the blood drained from my face. Beau reached out and caught my hand, steadying me.
Why was Anton’s brother in Prescott? Shouldn’t he be confined to the city? And if Ivan had come to Montana, did that mean Anton was in Florida?
“Come here,” Beau said, leading me to the log chair to sit. He crouched down in front of me and took my hand. “Everyone is fine. Take a breath.”
I nodded and sucked in some air. My hands were still shaking but the oxygen stopped my head from spinning.
“Better?” he asked.
“Yeah. What happened?”
“Ivan showed at the motel this morning. He asked Maisy for a room and chatted with her a bit. He gave her a fake ID and some bullshit story about being a private investigator hired by your family to track you down. Then he showed her your picture and asked if you had come by.”
Damn my story. Not only had I endangered my friends and family but I had pulled Beau’s family into this mix too. His sister, with an adorable little boy, was conversing with criminals.
“You’re sure it was Ivan and not Anton? They look a lot alike.” Ivan was more relaxed than his brother and, as far as I knew, less violent. I didn’t want Anton anywhere near Prescott.
“I’m sure. We’ve all been keeping an eye on the papers and their pictures. It was Ivan.”
I let out a relieved sigh. “Okay. Then what?”
“Obviously, Maisy lied and said she’d never seen you before,” Beau continued. “Ivan bought it, and after he went to his room, Maisy called me.”
“You’re sure that Ivan believed her?”
He nodded. “I’m sure. I was in the office when he came back in for an extra towel. The fucker was flirting with my sister and she played right along. He didn’t suspect a thing.”
“Good. What about Felicity?”
“She’s fine. When Maisy called, I
was with Silas and Jess eating breakfast at the café. I went to the motel and both of them went straight to Felicity’s office.”
“Did Ivan talk to her?”
“Yeah,” he said. “He went down there after leaving the motel. Jess told me Felicity put on quite the show. Cried and everything as she begged Ivan to do everything he could to find you. How upset she’s been since you went missing. She even thanked him for helping with the search.”
Beau grinned and I couldn’t help but do the same. The mental image of Felicity Cleary putting on an Oscar-winning performance to a fake private investigator was too much. I was almost sorry I missed it.
“Is he still in Prescott?” I asked.
“Yeah. Jess is keeping tabs on him. Ivan’s been going all over Prescott flashing your picture around. Silas is glued to Felicity’s side. Dad and Michael are camping out with Maisy until he leaves the motel. I came here, just in case.”
I was so glad that Beau had forced me to come to the outpost that first night and that I hadn’t stayed in town and risked being seen. Ivan wouldn’t learn a thing from this trip to Montana.
